U.S. patent number 10,190,390 [Application Number 14/819,074] was granted by the patent office on 2019-01-29 for pressure actuated ported sub for subterranean cement completions.
This patent grant is currently assigned to BAKER HUGHES, A GE COMPANY, LLC. The grantee listed for this patent is Baker Hughes, A GE COMPANY, LLC. Invention is credited to Charles C. Johnson, Justin C. Kellner, Paul Madero, Jason C. Mailand, Robert W. Putch, James S. Sanchez.
United States Patent |
10,190,390 |
Mailand , et al. |
January 29, 2019 |
Pressure actuated ported sub for subterranean cement
completions
Abstract
A shifting sleeve has differential piston areas so that applied
pressure displaces the sleeve against spring bias, which preferably
is a series of Belleville washer stacks associated with modular
mandrel components, to obtain the desired opposing force to the
movement initiated with pressure applied to differential piston
areas. An indexing feature is located between the sleeve and the
mandrel passage wall and on a predetermined number of cycles
disables the Belleville washer stacks from biasing the sleeve in an
opposed direction as when pressure is applied. At this time the
pressure in the mandrel acting on the differential piston area
simply shifts the sleeve to open a lateral port so that fracturing
through the cement that was earlier placed with the port closed can
take place.
Inventors: |
Mailand; Jason C. (The
Woodlands, TX), Kellner; Justin C. (Pearland, TX),
Sanchez; James S. (Tomball, TX), Madero; Paul (Edmond,
OK), Johnson; Charles C. (League City, TX), Putch; Robert
W. (Cypress, TX) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Baker Hughes, A GE COMPANY, LLC |
Houston |
TX |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
BAKER HUGHES, A GE COMPANY, LLC
(N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
50474334 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/819,074 |
Filed: |
August 5, 2015 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20150337625 A1 |
Nov 26, 2015 |
|
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
13651878 |
Oct 15, 2012 |
9359865 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21B
34/10 (20130101); E21B 34/102 (20130101); E21B
23/006 (20130101); E21B 34/14 (20130101); E21B
2200/06 (20200501) |
Current International
Class: |
E21B
23/00 (20060101); E21B 34/10 (20060101); E21B
34/14 (20060101); E21B 34/00 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2012115868 |
|
Aug 2012 |
|
WO |
|
2012145735 |
|
Oct 2012 |
|
WO |
|
Other References
Delta Stim Initiator Valve Drawing, HAL24633, Date Unknown, 1 page.
cited by applicant .
Schlumberger, Kickstary Rupture Disc Valve, Date Unknown, 1 page.
cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Harcourt; Brad
Assistant Examiner: Carroll; David
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hunter; Shawn
Parent Case Text
PRIORITY INFORMATION
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 13/651,878 filed on Oct. 15, 2012.
Claims
We claim:
1. An apparatus for cementing and fracturing subterranean locations
in a borehole, comprising: a housing having at least one
selectively open lateral wall port; at least one sleeve assembly
selectively covering said lateral port, said sleeve assembly having
an always open passage therethrough for passage of a material
therethrough and into an annular space between said housing and the
borehole, said sleeve assembly configured to receive a net force
from pressure applied from an uphole location to said housing with
said wall port closed, said sleeve assembly comprising a biased
index mechanism to allow reciprocal sleeve movement for
predetermined cycles of pressure application and removal while
maintaining said wall port in a closed position, said sleeve
assembly moving to open said port after completion of said
predetermined cycles for communication to a formation through said
open wall port, said biased index mechanism comprising at least one
biasing device acting against a j-slot mechanism for said sleeve
assembly such that movement of said j-slot mechanism allows a
different movement of said sleeve assembly to open said wall port
and disable said biasing device source from subsequent movement of
said sleeve assembly in at least one direction.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising: said selective movement of
said j-slot mechanism allows said net force alone to move said
sleeve assembly away from said wall port.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising: said sleeve assembly
comprising a selectively engaged lock operative to retain said
sleeve assembly after said lateral wall port is opened.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: said bias for said index
mechanism comprises a housing made of modular components each
modular component with a biasing assembly selectively engaged to
said sleeve assembly.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising: said net force is created
as a result of unequal piston areas on opposed ends of said sleeve
assembly.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising: releasably retaining said
sleeve assembly to said housing with said wall port closed to allow
building pressure in said housing at a first predetermined pressure
for a pressure test of a tubular string attached to the housing;
said lateral wall port opening with pressure lower than said first
predetermined pressure applied from an uphole location to said
housing with said wall port closed.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising: said index mechanism
comprising a rotatably mounted sleeve on an exterior of said sleeve
assembly having a slot pattern thereon and a fixed pin on said
housing in registry with said slot pattern; said slot pattern
having a plurality of short apexes in opposition leading to a long
slot; said pin engaged by one of said short apexes as a travel stop
for said sleeve assembly when said sleeve assembly moves responsive
to said net force from pressure applied from an uphole location to
said housing.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, comprising: said short apexes are not
engaged by said pin when said sleeve assembly is moved by said
biasing that comprises at least one spring in said housing
selectively retained to said sleeve assembly by an end ring due to
said end ring first engaging a stop surface on said housing.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, comprising: said net force acts to
move said sleeve assembly in an opposite direction to said at least
one spring.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising: said biasing comprises at
least one spring on said housing selectively engaging said sleeve
assembly; said net force acts to move said sleeve assembly in an
opposite direction to said at least one spring.
11. An apparatus for cementing and fracturing subterranean
locations in a borehole, comprising: a housing having at least one
selectively open lateral wall port; at least one sleeve assembly
selectively covering said lateral port, said sleeve assembly having
an always open passage therethrough for passage of a material
therethrough and into an annular space between said housing and the
borehole, said sleeve assembly configured to receive a net force
from pressure applied from an uphole location to said housing with
said wall port closed, said sleeve assembly comprising a biased
index mechanism to allow reciprocal sleeve movement for
predetermined cycles of pressure application and removal while
maintaining said wall port in a closed position, said sleeve
assembly moving clear of said port after completion of said
predetermined cycles for fracturing through said open wall port;
said bias for said index mechanism comprises a housing made of
modular components each modular component with a biasing assembly
selectively engaged to said sleeve assembly; said biasing assembly
comprises at least one spring fixedly supported in a respective
modular component at one end and having an opposed end movable in
tandem with said sleeve assembly under said net force from pressure
with an end ring selectively retained to said sleeve assembly.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein: said end ring is retained
in a groove in said sleeve assembly by a wall on said modular
component for said predetermined cycles whereupon said end ring
aligns with a groove on said wall of said modular component to
allow disengagement of said end ring from said sleeve assembly.
13. The apparatus of claim 11, comprising: said at least one spring
comprises a stack of Belleville washers.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The field of the invention is a pressure actuated sleeve used in a
cementing assembly that is responsive to tubing pressure to open a
port and more particularly a sleeve that has differential piston
areas where application and removal of pressure cycles the sleeve
on a j-slot to allow string pressure testing at a higher pressure
than a pressure that releases a bias on the sleeve to allow the
differential piston area to shift the sleeve to open a port at a
lower pressure than the string integrity testing pressure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Prior sleeves that have been deployed in cementing service have
been based on the concept of providing opposed piston areas exposed
to tubing pressure that are of different dimensions so that raising
the tubing pressure will create a sufficient net force to in theory
overcome seal friction and move the sleeve to the open position.
One such design is the Halliburton Initiator Sliding Sleeve that
has a larger upper seal diameter than a lower seal. Raising tubing
pressure creates a net differential force and the piston is allowed
to move because there is an atmospheric chamber between the upper
and lower seals. The problem is that to get the lower seal to be
smaller than the upper seal to create the desired net force in the
needed direction, the wall of the sleeve adjacent the lower seal
and the atmospheric chamber has to be reduced so that the sleeve
can shift while the volume of the atmospheric chamber is
reduced.
The wall of the sleeve in the area of the atmospheric chamber sees
substantial differential pressure and can flex or bend. When that
happens the sleeve gets stuck and the desired port opening in the
housing fails to occur.
Apart from these designs there are sleeves that respond to tubing
pressure with an associated piston that is open on one side to
tubing pressure and on the other side to annulus pressure. Such a
design is illustrated in US Publication 2011/0100643. This design
cannot be used in cementing applications as the filling up of the
annulus with cement can block access to annulus pressure.
Furthermore, there is a leak path potential from the tubing to the
annulus through a piston seal leak.
Various pressure operated sleeves for downhole use are shown in USP
and Publications: U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,703,510; 3,662,834; 4,330,039;
6,659,186; 6,550,541; 5,355,959; 4,718,494; 7,640,988; 6,386,289;
US 2010/0236781 A1; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,649,597; 5,044,444; 5,810,087;
5,950,733; 5,954,135; 6,286,594; 4,434,854; 3,189,044; 6,948,561;
US Publication 20120006553; U.S. Pat. No. 8,171,994; US Publication
2011/0114324; US Publication 2012/0186803; U.S. Pat. Nos.
4,991,654; 5,325,917; US Publication 2012/0048559; US Publication
2011/0278017; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,308,783 and 6,722,439.
More noteworthy with respect to the present invention is Jasser
U.S. Pat. No. 7,841,412 that couples a sleeve with a flapper at the
top that closes with pressure delivered from above the closed
flapper to then cycle the sleeve using a j-slot so that ultimately
a lateral port is opened or closed. The application is to prevent
fluid loss during treatment and the design is impractical in a
cementing application.
What is needed and provided by the present invention is an
actuation technique for a sliding sleeve to open a port that
responds to tubing pressure but addresses the flexing or bending
problem associated with prior designs so that reliable movement of
the sleeve is obtained. In the preferred embodiment the sleeve has
differential piston areas so that applied pressure displaces the
sleeve against spring bias which preferably is a series of
Belleville washer stacks associated with modular mandrel components
to obtain the desired opposing force to the movement initiated with
pressure applied to differential piston areas. An indexing feature
is located between the sleeve and the mandrel passage wall and on a
predetermined number of cycles disables the Belleville washer
stacks from biasing the sleeve in an opposed direction as when
pressure is applied. At this time the pressure in the mandrel
acting on the differential piston area simply shifts the sleeve to
open a lateral port so that fracturing through the cement that was
earlier placed with the port closed can take place.
Those skilled in the art will better appreciate more aspects of the
invention from a review of the description of the preferred
embodiment and the associated drawings while recognizing that the
full scope of the invention is to be determined by the appended
claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A shifting sleeve has differential piston areas so that applied
pressure displaces the sleeve against spring bias, which preferably
is a series of Belleville washer stacks associated with modular
mandrel components, to obtain the desired opposing force to the
movement initiated with pressure applied to differential piston
areas. An indexing feature is located between the sleeve and the
mandrel passage wall and on a predetermined number of cycles
disables the Belleville washer stacks from biasing the sleeve in an
opposed direction as when pressure is applied. At this time the
pressure in the mandrel acting on the differential piston area
simply shifts the sleeve to open a lateral port so that fracturing
through the cement that was earlier placed with the port closed can
take place.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the ported sub shown in the run in
position;
FIG. 2 is a view of the indexing mechanism under applied pressure
that pushes the sliding sleeve to a point where the pin engages in
the j-slot to stop the movement;
FIG. 3 shows the removal of applied pressure and the springs
returning the sleeve to a point short of the slot hitting the
pin;
FIG. 4 is a view of sleeve movement down a long slot that allows
the spring assembly to disengage from the sleeve so that the port
can open;
FIG. 5 is a view at the sleeve upper end during run in showing a
shear pin intact and a ratchet mechanism deactivated;
FIG. 6 shows the travel stop when applied pressure is removed and
the port is still covered by the sleeve;
FIG. 7 shows the position of the sleeve ready to open the port but
before any sleeve movement that exposes the port;
FIG. 8 shows the spring retainer moved into a recess to disengage
the spring assembly from biasing the sleeve;
FIG. 9 shows the sleeve moving off the port and a ratchet lock
engaging to hold the open port position; and
FIG. 10 shows the spring assembly retainer in a housing recess so
that a bias force can no longer be applied to the released sleeve
to allow the released sleeve to shift open under differential
loading from applied pressure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1 the ported sub 10 is part of a cementing
assembly supported on a string that is not shown and leading to a
bottom hole assembly (BHA) that has a cementing shoe and landing
collars for wiper darts that aid in displacing cement to the
surrounding annulus 12 of a borehole 14. When the cementing is done
the port or ports 16 can be opened with shifting of sleeve assembly
18 so that the formation can be fractured through the set up
cement.
The sub 10 allows pressure testing the string supporting the sub 10
at a higher pressure than will ultimately be needed to open the
ports 16 for a subsequent frac of the formation through the cement
20.
The ported sub 10 has a top sub 22 and a bottom sub 24. Each of
these subs can be in one or more parts secured together generally
by being threaded together. The top sub 22 has the ports 16 and the
bottom sub 24 houses the indexing assembly 26 as will be explained
in more detail below. In between the subs 22 and 24 are one or more
modules 28 that have threaded ends 30 and 32 so that one or more
modules can be stacked. FIG. 1 happens to show five modules 28 but
fewer or more can be used depending on the desired force to push
the sleeve assembly 18 in an uphole direction, which is toward the
left end of FIG. 1. The modules can be identical or different and
are each preferably equipped with a stack of Belleville washers as
also seen better in FIG. 6. FIG. 8 shows a lowermost module 28 that
is adjacent the bottom sub 24. Each module 18 has a shoulder 36 on
which the stack 34 bears for pushing the sleeve assembly 18 to the
left in an uphole direction. The opposite end 38 of each stack 34
is retained to the sleeve assembly 18 with an end ring assembly 40
that comprises one or more dogs between two rings that extends into
a groove 42 in the outer wall 44 of the sleeve assembly 18. Release
groove 46 is in the body 48 of the module 28. Movement of the
sleeve assembly 18 to the right or downhole takes with it end ring
40 and compresses the stack 34. Movement in that direction is
stopped short of end ring 40 reaching release groove 46 by the
indexing assembly 26 as will be described below. Once end ring 40
gets into groove 46 it is liberated from being in registry with
groove 42. As long as end ring 40 is in groove 42 movement of the
sleeve assembly 18 will compress the stack 34. Note that a stack of
Belleville washers is preferred because it can deliver a large
force after being compressed a relatively short distance and can
apply that force constantly when the movement direction of the
sleeve assembly 18 is reversed as the applied pressure from the
surface is cut off. Other types of biasing devices are contemplated
such as other types of springs or a variable volume with a
compressible gas trapped inside, for example.
Referring again to FIG. 1 it can be seen that diameter D1 is larger
than diameter D2 so that when pressure is applied to the sleeve
assembly 18 there is a net unbalanced force toward the downhole
direction illustrated by arrow 50 in FIG. 2. This is because the
piston area defined by seal pairs 52 is larger than the piston area
defined by seal pairs 54. FIG. 2 shows how the travel limit with
pressure from uphole is defined using the indexing assembly 26 with
the bottom sub 24 removed for clarity. The indexing pin 56 extends
from fixed sleeve 60 held in the bottom sub 24. Sleeve 60 in turn
surrounds sleeve 58, as best seen in FIG. 8. Sleeve 58 reciprocates
with sleeve assembly 18 and turns on its own axis as the j-slot
pattern 64 is encountered by the pin 56. Sleeve 60 is pinned at 62
to the bottom sub 24 to prevent rotation. Those skilled in the art
will appreciate that there are a plurality of short slots 66 and 68
that are adjacent each other and represent movement of the sleeve
assembly 18 against the stack 34 and upon removal of applied
pressure a reverse movement of the sleeve assembly 18 under the
force of the stack 34 in each module 28. FIG. 2 shows the downward
travel limit of the sleeve assembly 18 under a net force from
applied pressure from uphole operating on the differing piston
areas represented by diameters D1 that is larger than D2. That
travel limit happens when movement of the sleeve assembly 18 takes
sleeve 58 down to a point where the slot depth at 66 engages the
fixed pin 56. The downward travel limit shown in FIG. 2 happens
each cycle until the long slot 70 comes into alignment with pin
56.
On the other hand when the stacks 34 push the sleeve assembly 18 in
the uphole direction as shown in FIG. 3 the short slot 68 is not
brought forcibly against the stationary pin 56 to avoid overstress
of the pin 56. Instead the uphole movement under the bias of the
stacks 34 comes to a stop when end ring 40 hits shoulder 72 in each
module 28 as shown in FIG. 6.
FIG. 4 shows what happens when pressure applied from above the
sleeve assembly after a predetermined number of cycles of applying
pressure and removing pressure from above allows the long slot 70
align with pin 56. As shown in FIG. 4 the slot 70 allows an added
movement of the sleeve assembly 18 in the direction of arrow 50.
What this does is shown in FIG. 4. During the short cycles of
movement of the sleeve assembly 18 the surface 74 has kept the end
ring 40 trapped in groove 42 of the sleeve assembly 18. With the
long stroke the end ring 40 can move into alignment with groove 46
of housing 48 of each module 28 to allow the end rings 40 the
ability to retract away from sleeve assembly grooves 42 effectively
disabling the stacks 34 from any further ability to push the sleeve
assembly in the uphole direction when the applied pressure from
uphole is subsequently removed. However, now any pressure in the
sleeve assembly will still create a net force on it in the
direction of arrow 50 which will now result in opening the port or
ports 16. FIG. 7 shows the sleeve assembly just before it opens to
uncover ports 16. There is a fixed ratchet sleeve 76 that is still
not in contact with a ratchet surface 78 on the sleeve assembly 18.
When the ports 16 open, as in FIG. 9, the ratchets line up to
prevent reclosing of the ports 16. The travel stop for the sleeve
assembly 18 when the ports 16 open is shoulder 80 on the topmost
module 28. FIG. 10 shows the lower end of the sleeve assembly 18
when ports 16 are open and how the end ring 40 has been allowed to
retract from the sleeve assembly 18 to take the stacks 34 out of
play as a biasing force on the sleeve assembly 18. Note how groove
42 has moved downhole with respect to groove 48 that now holds the
end rings 40 in each module 28.
FIG. 5 illustrates the shear pins 82 that hold the sleeve assembly
from moving during cementing through the sleeve assembly 18 with
the ports 16 closed. After the cementing is done a higher pressure
than seen during cementing is applied to the sleeve assembly 18 to
break the pins 82 as the pressure is further raised to the desired
test pressure. After that the needed amount of pressure application
and removal cycles are applied until such time as the ports 16 are
open in the manner described above.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the preferred
embodiment employs a sleeve assembly responsive to cycles of
applied and removed pressure to open ports for fracturing after
cementing. The net force occurs due to different piston areas at
the ends of the sleeve assembly and the resisting force when the
applied pressure is removed is applied by spring modules to obtain
the desired force. Ultimately the spring return force is disabled
to allow the sleeve assembly to move down under a net force created
by differential piston areas at opposed ends. The ports open
position is then locked in the ports open position.
The above description is illustrative of the preferred embodiment
and many modifications may be made by those skilled in the art
without departing from the invention whose scope is to be
determined from the literal and equivalent scope of the claims
below.
* * * * *